Written by Pablo Figueroa at Sporting Charts
More so than any other season in recent memory, 2015 has featured a lot of quarterback turmoil around the NFL. Top tier starters like Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, and Marcus Mariota have lost significant time due to injuries, while there is always the usual outcome of teams deciding to change starting QB’s in the middle of the year. And when that happens, it is time to turn to the backup.
As it turns out, this almost never turns out well. It is obvious that finding 32 NFL-level quarterbacks is a tall task, so it is then more obvious that the 32 men behind men may not be suited to face the hardships of playing one of the toughest positions in pro sports. For every success story, like Tom Brady relieving Drew Bledsoe in New England, there are tens and dozens of flops who produce short-lived changes in many franchises.
And yet, it is always important to have at least a semblance of talent in place in case of any contingency as the season rolls around. With this in mind, today we rank the NFL’s backup quarterbacks from worst to best, starting with the NFC. We list the backup QB according to each team’s depth chart to begin the season, with the special cases of those who have been called to action. While many of these benchwarmers haven’t been part of any meaningful action in 2015, we can browse through their career stats to make a judgment call.
#16 – Chicago Bears – Jimmy Clausen
After being a complete bust in Carolina, Clausen went a full three years without throwing a pass before landing in Chicago, where he’s served as Jay Cutler‘s primary backup. In these two seasons, he’s twice had to enter in relief and then start a game when Cutler got injured, taking a respectable 6-point loss in 2014, and then being blanked 26-0 by the Seahawks in 2015. These games have added to Clausen’s miserable 1-11 record as a starter. While he certainly is experienced, the Bears never want to see him under center.
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